Pay can greatly vary depending on volume of pets coming into the salon, the cost of services provided (breed and coat dependent), and the availability of the groomer or bather/brusher. A full-time groomer working in a salon with a well established clientele, working on detail cuts or other highly demanding work, can indeed make good money. It boils down to talent and committment, the more of both you are willing to provide, the better the return.

actually if you read that ost they said the only way to make that much was if you worked as a groomer making commission. if you want to learn how to groom, do not go to petco or petsmart. it is also worth mentioning that if you work for petsmart they make you sign a 3 year contract (if you take grooming school). if you break it (quitting or being fired) you owe them the roughly 2000 bucks for the school. petco has a 1 year contract. they can be busy, but not all of them are. the biggest thing is that neither of these stores have any idea how a real grooming salon is run. i worked at a petco. we had the only fully staffed petco salon for 45 miles. we made 6000-10000 a week with only 2 groomers and 2 bather, and were number 2 every week in sales behind a salon that had triple that amount. yet they wouldnt give us adequate equipment, constantly beraded us for clocking in 1 mintues late when other petco salons were open half a day instead of a full day, and never once said "good job". our hot water heater went out weekend of christmas with 40 dogs in the salon. all our store manager said was "why do you need hot water?"

they dont care abnout animals, only about how much money you make them. however if you want to get started as a bather, petco is the only place that pays commission for that. you get 40% of what you do. I made an average of 400/week as a bather/asst. and to correct the top post, groomers make 50% commission OR min wage.

lauren in Ventura, California said: actually if you read that ost they said the only way to make that much was if you worked as a groomer making commission. if you want to learn how to groom, do not go to petco or petsmart. it is also worth mentioning that if you work for petsmart they make you sign a 3 year contract (if you take grooming school). if you break it (quitting or being fired) you owe them the roughly 2000 bucks for the school. petco has a 1 year contract. they can be busy, but not all of them are. the biggest thing is that neither of these stores have any idea how a real grooming salon is run. i worked at a petco. we had the only fully staffed petco salon for 45 miles. we made 6000-10000 a week with only 2 groomers and 2 bather, and were number 2 every week in sales behind a salon that had triple that amount. yet they wouldnt give us adequate equipment, constantly beraded us for clocking in 1 mintues late when other petco salons were open half a day instead of a full day, and never once said "good job". our hot water heater went out weekend of christmas with 40 dogs in the salon. all our store manager said was "why do you need hot water?"

they dont care abnout animals, only about how much money you make them. however if you want to get started as a bather, petco is the only place that pays commission for that. you get 40% of what you do. I made an average of 400/week as a bather/asst. and to correct the top post, groomers make 50% commission OR min wage.

don't lump PetSmart in with Petco. If you haven't worked for us then you cannot properly compare. There are very defined rules we are required to follow to ensure the safety of the pets and the groomers. These exist because the company cares very much about the pets as well as the associates. The company is very serious about following them (at least that has been my experience). at Petsmart you make 50% commission and MORE than minimum wage as a groomer.

so you think they didnt have those rules at petco? they had plenty, but nothing matters if they hire a complete oaf as store manager, who in turn hires anybody who applies. i know many petsmart stores that are also like this. if you are lucky enough to work for a store that is different, then i truly believe you are in the minority. i cant even remember half of the rules in the complany guidelines that were rhoutinely broken when i worked for them, and i was appalled at the way they hired. after being in many petsmart and petcos alike, i have learned they are of the same mold. and when a groomer makes commission, it matter very little what their base pay is. i dont know many groomers who dont make commission, so the fact that they get paid MORE than minimum wage is completely errelevent. and if you are ony making base pay as a groomer, then you are doing something wrong.

Wow Lauren, I'm sorry you had such a terrible experience. I work at PetSmart and I have to say that it's one of the most pleasant companies I've been with. I'm currently in their grooming academy and we have 8 people in our class with 2 of us being from my store. The other girls are from around Chicago area and a couple elsewhere. I will say they have some horror stories about how their salons are ran, but I will also say that those are in the process of being taken care of. My salon is fantastic. The people who work in it are very compassionate and I have yet to see one "chop job" to go out the doors of our salon, even by the academy students. My salon manager (who is also our academy trainer) owned her own business for 15 years, showed (and groomed) Bichons for years, and expects nothing but quality and compassion to the animals who are in our salon the second they walk in those doors and until they walk out. To do anything but reach those expectations will be confronted by her and will be taken care of.

While I agree there are stores out there who could care less about the dogs and want nothing more than the money, I do have to say that it's unfair to say that all stores are like that. I also have to say that if my store was like that I would go to everyone and their brother, all the way up to the Pope if needs be, before I would sit back and watch a dog being mishandled or allow someone to be degraded (including myself). Change starts within and if you want a good place to work sometimes you have to create it or help it progress to that.

Now our salon isn't perfect, we have our bad days, but overall I think it's a great company to work for and is more than adequate (at least my salon is).

As for the pay...as a bather it's pretty rough to live on and definately isn't meant as a job that a family can depend solely on, but the stylists can easily bring home excellent pay. I've been there for 2 months, so it is possible to go to an academy before 90 days...

evan in Waterford, Michigan said: once you become a groomer however you get a base hourly rate ($8.00 at my store) PLUS 50% commission on all grooming you do. So, work 40 hours in a week and do $1000 in grooms and you just made $820. That comes out to $42,640 in a year. To the Banfield employee who said they thought it was not possible I would guess they did not know that the commission existed and that it was 50%. Pay is lower for the bathing position and you have to do it for at least 3 months before you can go to the academy to be trained as a groomer. If you have prior experience grooming pets you can take a test and get hired in directly as a groomer without spending time as a bather or going to the academy (by the way, PetSmart does not make you pay for the academy, they pay you to attend it).

Bathers get no commission. and after you go to academy you HAVE to stay with petsmart for two years to "compensate for their losses"

Ashley in Stow, Massachusetts said: Bathers get no commission. and after you go to academy you HAVE to stay with petsmart for two years to "compensate for their losses"

This is kind of a rough way to look at things. Going to academy is the same thing as learning a trade skill. To be regarded as a groomer by most businesses you must show some level of education or training before being allowed to lay hands on a person's pet. Academy helps you do that. You attend an Academy for 4 weeks in a store that has qualified instructors. You build a portfolio of all your work while you're there and submit the portfolio for grading at the end of the academy to a master stylist. The master stylist determines your proficiency as a groomer based on your portfolio and from feedback at the academy. Once you are certified you return to your home store and start a process of grooming 100 dogs, commission free. This is done to ramp up your skills even further and to familiarize you with the various breed cuts and services you'll be exposed to. You are provided with equipment when you go to academy, and it is yours to keep. PetSmart charges you for the equipment they've provided for you by deducting the cost from your check in small amounts. And yes, you are contracted to work for PetSmart for two years. Because you are learning a trade skill, it does cost the company to train a highly skilled associate, and they want to protect that investment. All it really means is that you have to decide whether or not the trade-off is worth it. Learn a trade, and execute it for two years, with the potential to make good money, or play it safe and avoid getting jammed up. Hope this helps.

I had to be a bather for 3 months and now they are sending me to the academy. As a bather I got paid $7.50 + tips. I even got a lot of overtime over the holidays, the 3 months flew by. During Christmas most of the girls there averaged $1,000 + a week, but worked their butts off. Its not always like that, there are some slow weeks, like January; for our store is somewhat slow because everyone came in before the holidays. There are still some dogs, instead of doing 5 dogs a day, they might get 2 or 3 during the week. The weekends are always booked up and the busiest time for walk in services as well. I like it at Petsmart, I thinks its because of the people I work with. I think that is the most important thing about the job is helping each other out and getting along.

suzanne h in Hatboro, Pennsylvania said: I had to be a bather for 3 months and now they are sending me to the academy. As a bather I got paid $7.50 + tips. I even got a lot of overtime over the holidays, the 3 months flew by. During Christmas most of the girls there averaged $1,000 + a week, but worked their butts off. Its not always like that, there are some slow weeks, like January; for our store is somewhat slow because everyone came in before the holidays. There are still some dogs, instead of doing 5 dogs a day, they might get 2 or 3 during the week. The weekends are always booked up and the busiest time for walk in services as well. I like it at Petsmart, I thinks its because of the people I work with. I think that is the most important thing about the job is helping each other out and getting along.

opps...I mean during the "Slow period" they might get 2-3 a DAY (not during an entire week!)

I just started at PetsMart and everyone seems really nice I really enjoy being their. I am going to the acadamy soon. They keep changing the days around though. I hope it is what I was looking forward to.

I read your post with great amusement. It sounds like it was taken straight from the associate handbook? Which is what all good and dedicated associates are expected to learn and regurgitate chapter and verse. Factually though, it leaves a lot to be desired, IMHO.
As a former PS "shill" I'd like to take a moment and clarify a few things. First off, PS "Academy" is an entity of itself. Produced by PS and for PS. Much like their Pet Training program. It is not set up to be a "professional" grooming salon. It is set up for "PET" owners. By that I mean, owners of pets who do not require show or classic cuts. "Professional" dog groomers must be "certified" by an "outside" or "independent" agency. Having an accreditation from Petsmart Grooming Academy is vastly different than being "certified." Having said that, it should come as no surprise that PS grooming accreditation is for the most part, a worthless piece of paper outside of any PS store. As a result, if a groomer decides to leave PS for greener pastures, their "skilled trade" is not even taken seriously by "professional" grooming shops who seldom hire them as anything but bathers re-starting out. There is absolutely no way to learn ALL the ins and outs of grooming in 4 weeks. Do you know how many breeds require specific clipping? Apparently not. How many show breeders utilize PS grooming services? None. Why? Because they know that PS offers "pet quality" clips and nothing more. Why would any reputable show breeder pay $80.00 for a pet clip when they can get a professional clip for the same price (give or take)from a real groomer and have their "poodle" actually look like a poodle???
The 2 year contract isn't to recoup monies spent at the "Academy." Heck, they get that back right away, by making new groomers work commission free for the first 100 dogs. Do the math. They have employees sign the contract to keep them grooming for PS because so many others never make it to graduation. Let's be honest, eh?

Tara in Barrie, Ontario said: Thanks for that positive post on Petsmart!

I have been interested in learning the grooming trade for about 2 years now, I am slowling getting into a position where I will be able to take to pay cut required to get into the field. When this time comes I believe I will try Petsmart first....the reason being? I have attended training courses at our local Petsmart many times as well as shop there often, I feel that it has always been a positive experience. Also, grooming schools in our area cost about $6000 and I would have to travel at least 1 hour each way to attend, and you would be hard pressed to find a groomer to train you in a small privatly owned shop.....why would they train their future competition??

So......I think that the training at Petsmart may not be the best, but I think you take out of it what you can, do as much reading as you can and take seminars....you will get out of it what you put into it. Once your 2 year contract is up, hopefully you will be experienced enough to move on to your own shop or elsewhere, and you won't have a student loan hanging over your head!!

Do yourself a favor. If you really have an interest in becoming a professional dog groomer. Find a real "Academy" to attend. There are enough PS "pet" groomers out there and not enough professional ones. You'll never learn the proper practices at PS and opening up your own shop will not become a viable option. Good luck to you!

Becoming a PetSmart groomer does have value, more so than many of the other positions in a retail store. Yes, it's right say that you can't learn to groom like a competitive groomer in four weeks, but like many other trade positions, you can continually develop and educate yourself beyond that initial schooling. Many of the groomers I've worked with have taken the next step by entering competitions (at varying levels of skill and breed),have picked up AKC standard books, and network with other groomers in a variety of formats, including forums. One groomer I know even offered to do grooms for a charity she was fundraising for. She was able to make a good chunk of money for her cause and got some extra grooming time on her terms outside of the normal store restrictions (not a PS groomer, btw). In any case, it does make sense to take advantage of a training opportunity if you make the most of it. Realize that it is a launching pad for what you want to do with that training 1-5-10 years down the road.

Does anyone know if there is a Petsmart grooming academy in Augusta Georgia? I currently work as a Bather at my store in Pennsylvania but my husband just got stationed in Georgia and I would like to go there for grooming school so I could spend the time with him. Also does anyone know if thats possible as long as I pay for my own transportation?

Hi Alex K,
Really sorry to hear you have lost your positon with PS. Have recently accepted Trainer position with the new store opening here. Have to attend a training 'school' for two weeks, have been offered a part time position (wanted full time). Do PS make you sign for a minimum period once you have been trained for pet training (as with the salon training?)???

I've been working at PS now for about a month and being sent to the academy in June. I have to say I love working in the salon as a bather. I'm full-time making 9 an hour and once I get back from academy i hope it gets better. I'm happy with the company so far, but the girls in the salon are all drama drama drama... i hope i dont get dragged in, thats my only concern. good luck to all those going to academy soon as well. hope it all works out.

Wow MissNicci you sure sound bitter! I guess you may have worked for PS at some time? and obviously think you are better than any PS groomer?

I agree the academy is not alot of hands on training but when the students return to the home store they learn much doing the 100 dogs. Even after the 100 dogs, they still have alot to learn and need time to get their speed up so they make good money.

Not everyone has to be a show groomer. There is nothing wrong with being a pet groomer. Show people have their own preferred groomers anyways!

I think the groom academy is a great thing. It teaches one a trade they can take anywhere, they can make enough to support themselves, it gives confidence and self esteem.

I've seen many PS groomers leave and open their own salons and do very well. Not everyone looks down on them!

As for the money issue- once you have your speed up and you find the request customers, you can make very good money. Plus benefits, vaca time, sick pay, etc. When I worked at the Mom and Pop stores, all I got was commission when I did a dog. Nothing more. PS may not always be fun to work for simply because they are a corp and corps can be so anal but in the long run it is a great place to work!

I've worked for petsmart a long time now. Groomers do not make hourly PLUS commission. They make their hourly pay only if they do not COMMISSIION OUT. That being if I worked 40 hours and my hourly is 8 dollars an hour my pay would be 320, to commission out at 50% commission I would just have to do over 640 in sales. So if I did a thousand in sales my pay would be 500, I would COMMISSION out because 500 is more than my hourly of 320. To make your hourly pay your commissions would have to be less than 320. I have never not commissioned out, I don't know anyone who gets their hourly because commissions are always higher. Last year I made within the questioned range of income, I also know people who've made more. Petsmart is good to the animals, gives the customers anything they want and has great benefits. They do not, at least in my store and district, see their employees as anything other than highly replaceable worker bees, there is an extreme lack of employee appreciation.

MissNicci in Virginia said: Alex K,
"Professional" dog groomers must be "certified" by an "outside" or "independent" agency.

That's actually not a true statement, there is nothing that requires "professional" groomers to be certified. That's an option that groomers have, even Petsmart groomers could go test for the specific breed group certifications, and become a certified master groomer through NDGAA and IPG. Wow, I'm just a Petsmart groomer and I even knew that. Also, groomers who were trained through Petsmart over 6 years or so ago were sent to Nash Academy. So, even though I agree with plenty of your comments I can not agree with the implication that Petsmart dog groomers are bad groomers who don't know about "professional" dog grooming. That may be the case some of the time but there are bad seeds in every profession.

Well survivor, I don't think I sound bitter at all. I think I sound scarily like someone who worked for the "company" long enough to know a few things. I have never seen a PS groomer open up their own shop, even the groomers who worked their a**es off to update their skills without help from PS. Lastly, I never said I was better than any PS groomer. I said that the meager training provided by PS "academy" was nowhere near as professional as many might think. That is quite different than accusing someone of "looking down on" all PS groomers. Though for the record, I saw my fair share of worthless PS groomers in my time with the "company."

groomer08 in Virginia Beach, Virginia said: That's actually not a true statement, there is nothing that requires "professional" groomers to be certified. That's an option that groomers have, even Petsmart groomers could go test for the specific breed group certifications, and become a certified master groomer through NDGAA and IPG. Wow, I'm just a Petsmart groomer and I even knew that. Also, groomers who were trained through Petsmart over 6 years or so ago were sent to Nash Academy. So, even though I agree with plenty of your comments I can not agree with the implication that Petsmart dog groomers are bad groomers who don't know about "professional" dog grooming. That may be the case some of the time but there are bad seeds in every profession.

On the contrary.... any other "grooming facility" (other than PS) requires certification of new entry level groomers that they hire. There is a HUGE difference between PS Academy and other more professional grooming institutes, and you know this. I can't tell you how many PS groomers upon leaving PS found that the meager skills they learned from "the academy" were not good enough to be hired as a " professional groomer" in a private shop. Many of them were friends of mine so please stop putting words in my mouth about ALL PS groomers being worthless. I never said that. I said the piece of paper from the academy is basically worthless... much like the training certificate to become a PS dog trainer is. I would hope that any PS groomer would figure this out quickly and continue to update their grooming skills for that inevitable day when they find themselves unemployed with PS. Many of the groomers do, but many more "others" are lulled in to a false sense of security by that little piece of paper from the "academy." I'm not against the groomers at all. I'm against PS coming up with these ridiculous claims that somehow their "on the job training" programs even come close to being truly "professional."

Yeah, I know plenty of "professional" groomers that work for "other grooming facilities" and don't have certifications. Many groomers apprentice under experienced groomers and that's how they learn the trade and a certificate doesn't come with that. No groom shop I have ever been in required any certification, more like experience and showing what kind of work you can do. I know Petsmart groomers who have opened there own shops, groomed at other facilities, and had there own mobile grooming. If your talking about someone who walks off the street into an "other grooming facility" to become an "entry level groomer" would have to be experienced or certified, to be certified they'd have to have some experience with grooming. Petsmart doesn't let any old person just walk in and start grooming dogs. A Petsmart academy certificate, I agree is far different from the training you would receive at say Nash or some other school but I don't believe Petsmart is claiming that to anyone who goes to their academy and anyone who goes through 4 weeks of training and a 100 dog internship shouldn't be stupid enough to believe they are all knowing in the skill of grooming animals. Petsmart trains to become a PET groomer and I would hope that after someone goes through academy and through an internship would have the skills and abilities that grow with time and experience. If you don't love grooming it doesn't matter where you learn, you won't excel in the business and pursue more knowledge of the trade. I did not put words in your mouth , I referred to your implication that Petsmart groomers are not good enough to be "professional groomers," yet again you implied the same thing by saying no one YOU know that learned at Petsmart has had their own groom shop or the people YOU know were not "good enough to become a professional groomer." I also like how you ignored my statement on Petsmart outsourcing their training less than 8 years ago.

Well said Groomer08.
In my shop, I have a groomer that did show grooms and also showed numerous breeds for many years. I have a few that have gone through academy and are wonderful stylists. Two groomers left our shop- one academy trained, the other learned by apprenticing elsewhere and they have gone onto opening a very successful shop together. I learned to groom with adult classes years ago, then also was an apprentice and was hired at PS after bathing for a few months and then given a "technical". I am not a show groomer but I do kick butt with my pet grooms! I have one academy trained groomer right now that is having some difficulty and she is stationed right next to me so she is given constant guidance. With the extra training, she will do be a good groomer.
You are trashing all PS groomers, even though you deny it. And yes, you do sound bitter. I disgruntled ex-employee, I would call it!
I can understand having a bad experience with PS but that does not make you a PS groom expert. You certainly can't speak for all the grooming salons. Stick to making comments on the training (you are a trainer, right?) and I will not challenge your statements because I am a groomer and do not pretend to know anything about the training program.

I can see that this is slowly becoming a lesson in arguing semantics, which I have absolutely no interest in. However, I refuse to take part in misleading the general public about the "validity" of ANY PETSMART training program, whether that be dog training, pet grooming, or the care of fish and small animals.

Having been employed by PS I have a right to speak on any issue that I personally saw or have knowledge of. If you don't like what I have to say, it's rather simple... ignore me. As is my plan with both of you.

Lastly, maybe you should ask yourself this... "does she sound bitter or do I sound defensive?" My money is on the latter. Have a good one ladies.

I would just like to add my personal opinion on petsmart grooming....I started out at petsmart in Jan. of this year in petcare and I move back to grooming as a bather in May. At my store we have amazing groomers both that have attended PS academy and others that have experience when hired. You can not tell the difference between the groomer that was trained by a private shop and the PS trained one. I mean who would bring their dog into PS thinking they would walk out with a show quality cut? Someone who doesn't know jack about grooming. As for everyday pets PS can do great cuts not just shave downs and make the animal look great. We also take very good care of the animals while they are there. I am going to the grooming academy next week and I can't wait. So some people are saying you couldn't go work for a REAL grooming salon from PS, but I beg to differ, one groomer that I work with opened her own salon and two others went to work for local personaly owned salons. Also if for some reason you couldn't work for another place, you can work for any petsmart making darn good money with benefits.PS would be wasting their money and time sending people off to learn how to show cuts. For what groomers do at PS they are properly trained and most do it well.

First Of all PetSmart Doesn't waste Any money to send someone threw to acedemy because they don't pay for it. They send associates that have been with the company any where from 3 to 6 months ( IF THERE LIKE ANY STORES I WORKED AT AS SOON AS THEY HIRE IN WITH NO EXPREANCE ). They don't send them to a actual school they send them to another petsmart store to learn for a salon manager (They pay the salon manager about $1000.00 dollars a week to teach a group of about 8 students for 4 40hr work weeks with if your lucky 2 to 3 people working on one dog aday, If you know anything about the grooming business you would make more than that a week being a manager making 60%) So no one is loosing out but the actual students that get sent to these Crap hole academys, save your money and go to a real school. They don't teach you about and sort of paracites or bactirias you can spred dog to dog. or antomy of the dog. They do teach you how to send out factory looking hair cut so they can make there 43 dollars off shih tzu.

Actually I am in grooming acamdey right now and the curriculum was designed with the help of a "real" grooming academy. We are in a new curriculum and I think it is great. Also they do teach us about bacteria and parasites. I have the book to prove it.

Monica in Salt Lake City, Utah said: I don't think that is a realistic pay estimate. I worked at the veterinary hospital that is affiliated with and located inside PetSmart. Starting pay THERE is approximately $9.00 an hour. Working 40 hours a week, you earn barely above $17,000 annually. Unless there are incredible commissions and/or tips involved in working the other venues, i.e. sales associate or grooming, I don't see how anyone could expect to earn close to $35,00 to $50,000 a year working for PetSmart. Unless, of course, they are hired directly into the upper tier of management.

You've got to realize, though, that they're getting 40 hours a week PLUS 50% commission on each dog- the pay expectation is VERY realistic.

Can we get this straight once and for all???
Groomers receive a base pay of anywhere from $7 an hour to over $10, depending on how long you have been there. Groomers make commission on the dogs they groom. The commission is 50%. If you make more on commissions than you would your base pay, then you get the commissions ONLY. If your commission is less than what your base pay would be for the hours you worked, you get hourly ONLY. Seldom, if ever, does a groomer make more at the hourly wage then in commissions.
These people with the holier than thou pompous attitudes have no clue about EVERY PetSmart. I resent them looking down on all PS groomers. Sure, there are bad ones out there but don't try to tell me that every privately owned grooming salon has good groomers or "show" groomers. If someone has a positive experience as a PS groomer, why the need to bash?

And yes, I know there are alot of doctors and such that can't spell. I was being facetious. It was the attitude that ticked me off.

MY PAST EXPERIENCE IN PHOENIX ARIZONA IS THAT PET SMART JUST CARES ABOUT NUMBERS AND SELLING A TRAINING CLASS,I HAVE SEEN GROOMING MANAGERS TAKE IN MORE THAN DOGS ON AN 8 HR SHIFT THAT SHE COULD POSSIBLY DO ( 13 DOGS ) YOU KNOW THEY ARENT GETTING QUALITY GROOMS AND THE STORE DIRECTOR THINKS THAT IS GREAT ,IN RETURN CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS AND BEING THE GROOMING MANAGER SHE CAN VCOVER THAT UP

I am interested in going to the PM grooming academy. I was told not to buy the prepackaged kit from them by a groomer though. Can anyone tell me what all comes in the kit and/or what equipment I will have to buy in order to go to academy? Thanks!

I have had 24 years experience in the Pet industry. Everything from Kennel cleaner to store owner to Registered Vet tech to Vet Clinic Manager. The one thing that has always been a constant in every single place I have worked or owned has been this. There has always been a groomer and the groomer has always taken home almost double what everyone else makes. Also in all of those places only twice have I seen or had the pleasure to work with *show Groomers*. The rest all just did very nice pet clips, designed to keep your average parents wont brush em out type dogs, clean and comfortable.

I took a 7 year hiatus from full time pet work down to a little bit of part time bathing to raise my kids to school age and then we moved and I am in a city looking for a job. I take one a a local pet shop. It's a big name and the job sounded great. I hated it. I was treated badly, the animals were treated badly and everything was about pumping in as much cash as possible. I stayed for 7 months and walked out cause I hated it.

Then I walked into a Petsmart. I put in my resume, took a job as a part time bather/brusher. It is now 60 days later. Since my first day the following has happened.

I was trained for a WEEK..not an hour or a day but an entire week on pet care, pet safety and store policy. I can tell you this was..ok yes boring..but incredible. This is unheard of. I have never been taught or tested on so many things before being allowed to touch an animal before. Really wonderful when you think of it.

After a month of part time, I moved to full time and have spent 60 days watching 6 girls work on dogs. Of the 6 we have one girl who doesnt even have a clue how good she is. It is not easy to impress me and yet she does every day...she should consider competing. She is only 21 and I would love to see what she can do with more experience under her belt. Of the 5 remainder 4 of them do a decent job.

The animals they work on are really well looked after and go home looking, clean and trimmed fairly nicely. Not a job I would pay 80 dollars for..but I would put out the 50 they are charged. A lot of the problem is actually owners who bring in dogs matted to the skin and there is only so much anyone can do. The last girl..chop shop..but steps are being taken to help her fix the problems with her grooms.

My boss..AMAZING, truly the kind of woman you would do anything for. She truly works for her staff. She covers shifts no one wants, rearranges schedules to please everyone, helps boost dogs, cleans kennels, mops floors and would never ask anyone to do anything she would not do herself, and on top of that is a darn good groomer. She is patient, takes on the aggressive dogs and calms them down like..magic. I adore her. She is a better boss then I ever was or could be.

As for academy. I have a spot coming up. It is booked and I can't wait. I have no problem working for them for 2 years or 10. They have everything I want or need or could desire really. A competative wage, health benefits, I can and will extend my training on my own, they also cover your butt if you mess up or so I am told. Six sick days a year, 2 discretionary days, a clean safe work enviornment and a group of people I enjoy working with.

In 24 years..That is the very first time I have had all of that in one package. I am not niave enough to think every single location would be so good..but mine is, and I have been thankful every day for the last 60 that I needed a job and rabbit food that day.

evan in Waterford, Michigan said: once you become a groomer however you get a base hourly rate ($8.00 at my store) PLUS 50% commission on all grooming you do. So, work 40 hours in a week and do $1000 in grooms and you just made $820. That comes out to $42,640 in a year. To the Banfield employee who said they thought it was not possible I would guess they did not know that the commission existed and that it was 50%. Pay is lower for the bathing position and you have to do it for at least 3 months before you can go to the academy to be trained as a groomer. If you have prior experience grooming pets you can take a test and get hired in directly as a groomer without spending time as a bather or going to the academy (by the way, PetSmart does not make you pay for the academy, they pay you to attend it).

ACTUALLY you get either your hourly OR your commissions which ever is higher. Which means if you work 40 hours and only make say 8 an hour you would have to make over 640 for the week. Sounds easy but when you dont have support from the Marketing Team and you are trying to make the difference alone IT SUCKS! If you go to groom school you have 8 weeks to finish your 100 dogs including 5 technicals. BUT if you dont get the dogs you need because you have 50 (over estimation) groomers and only 4 dogs a day HA forget it. The Kit was nice but now you have to rent one on your own because this was becoming costly for PS seeing as people would work there till they got to GS and quit within 2 days. I am surely not a fan of how they have been treating us groomers. I feel like i am suppost to be a groom factory with an open window for owners to distract thier dogs so i cut off a schnauzers nice angled eye brow. If you have a problem then YOU are the problem not the system or the other person. If you do decide to go that way i can not stress the importance of working WITH your Salon Team. We can only make changes if we work together!

Pupgroomer in Arizona said: ACTUALLY you get either your hourly OR your commissions which ever is higher. Which means if you work 40 hours and only make say 8 an hour you would have to make over 640 for the week. Sounds easy but when you dont have support from the Marketing Team and you are trying to make the difference alone IT SUCKS! If you go to groom school you have 8 weeks to finish your 100 dogs including 5 technicals. BUT if you dont get the dogs you need because you have 50 (over estimation) groomers and only 4 dogs a day HA forget it. The Kit was nice but now you have to rent one on your own because this was becoming costly for PS seeing as people would work there till they got to GS and quit within 2 days. I am surely not a fan of how they have been treating us groomers. I feel like i am suppost to be a groom factory with an open window for owners to distract thier dogs so i cut off a schnauzers nice angled eye brow. If you have a problem then YOU are the problem not the system or the other person. !

This is correct. my daughter works in a new PS salon and is having the same issues with her managers. She is under a lot of stress because of this....also the thing about the commission...you only get an hourly rate UNLESS you get enough dogs to 'commission' for the week. So, its not hourly rate and 50% commission. They only allow her to work 36 hrs a week and won't give her 40, but she HAS to work 36 hrs, so they mess with her schedule and send her home early, make her take longer lunches, etc. She works when people call off sick and they make her take a day off...if she does commission, they accuse her of overbooking for herself, if she doesn't commission she is talked to about that.....PetSmart needs to look at how their managers are operating in their stores. I agree with the previous entry that the management team needs to improve their management skills. Their groomers are an asset if they are treated properly.

Attention anyone that has any feedback on status of trainers! I would appreciate any feedback anyone has to give. My store currently and has almost always had two part time trainers. One works four days a week and the other three. Training sales have picked up and as of next week, one will be full time and the other part time......one working two days a week and the other five. What is to be expected from here on out? If the part-timer quits, will they be likely to just continue with one full-time person? Will they be likely to look for another part-timer willing to work two days a week at only 6 hours a week to start? Does anyone out there work in a store that has two full-time trainers? What is there schedule like? How many dogs do they average per class? Any idea what the current enrollment is? Any comment will be appreciated!

Doglady good news that your store is doing so well. I wish we were. I am the only trainer and only get 25/30 hours a week. My manager has said he will hire additional trainer but has not done so. I am puting in most of the time on Sat and Sun and I am burned out because I have no back up. I need a vacation and I have no one to take over. I can not be sick because no back up.

Is there another store anywhere near you? I know that some stores will have trainers come from another to store to cover for trainers if they are sick or if they are on vacation. The full-time trainer in our store doesn't do JUST training. About half of a shift is spent either in class or selling, and the other half is cashiering, stock, and sometimes petcare......but also friday, saturday, and sunday. Hopefully it will continue to grow and be just full-time trainer. About how many students do currently have enrolled?

all i have to say is pick your store carefully, my first store i was at was nice. my manager was very much protect the dog, the way she put it hurt yourself before the dog. this new store however lets this same girl cut dog after dog after and nothing is done because she is the managers favorite, and im in the process of figuring out a good way to tell corporate because its not right, i take every precaution of not cutting a dog and ugh.